The Argus Risk Management Team
Nick McCarthy
A former Parachute Regiment Soldier with a variety of operational deployments behind him. On leaving the army Nick became a Security Consultant on a major Diamond Mining Project in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Following this Nick became a Close Protection Officer and Professional Investigator working in the United Kingdom.
Nick has helped to develop numerous businesses in the security industry including a prominent and well establish security industry training company that deliver a portfolio of training courses to the security industry. This has led to him mentoring a large amount of course students to help them establish themselves within the sector and in some cases help them setup or develop their own businesses.
Nick has volunteered numerous times over the past decade including a stint on the General Council of the Association of British Investigators – an association dedicated to driving standards in the investigation sector.
Nick has a wide spectrum of contacts within the industry and continues to operate and train within the industry.
Martin Cartwright
Martin is head of investigations for Argus Risk Management. He is an experienced civil law and criminal law investigator with over 20 years experience. Martin gained significant experience whilst serving with both the Royal Military Police and Metropolitan Police Service during which he conducted and managed numerous criminal investigations including major crimes.
After leaving the police, Martin continued his career focusing on civil law investigations both in the UK and overseas. He has worked in numerous hostile and complex environments including Afghanistan, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, where he utilised his extensive experience of evidence gathering to support significant civil litigation cases.
In 2016 he was appointed as a board member of the UK Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) serving for 2 years. Martin is security cleared to a high government standard and holds a BA (Hons) in Applied Investigation which he received from the University of Sunderland.
Chris Shaw
Following a career within the Royal Navy, Chris has been working within the private, commercial and government security sectors for over ten years. Operationally, he has managed substantial projects on behalf of government, oil and gas and communications infrastructure clients within some of the most complex regions of the world, including the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions.
As a specialist in compliance, assurance and ethics within the security sector, Chris has worked at strategic levels within some of the world’s largest security companies, designing, embedding and auditing systems in compliance with international standards ISO’s 9001, 45001, 14001, 18788, 31000 and 22301, as well as security sector standard PSC.1, and acting in business critical roles focused upon HSE, internal audit, corporate governance and risk management.
At Argus Risk Management, Chris focuses upon driving industry leading standards of quality and safety, providing strategic and operational direction in the achievement of the businesses goal of operational excellence, and advising the Senior Management on matters relating to enterprise risk.
David Westwood
David first discovered his passion of covert operations whilst serving as a Grenadier Guardsman in the Reconnaissance Platoon. During his service he was deployed operationally as part of a Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Afghanistan.
After leaving the Army, David spent four years in the HM Prison Service. Following this, he entered the private security industry conducting anti-piracy operations on high-risk vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. On his return to the UK, David undertook various close protection assignments in the UK, which lead to the start of his Private Investigation career.
David now works predominantly within the surveillance sector while still remaining competent with close protection and thrives on the thrill of running covert investigations – for his team, nothing is more satisfying than getting the evidence required by his clients.
Steve Heaney MC
Steve spent fifteen years in the British Army, serving with both 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Parachute Regiment. Steve also spent over a decade with the elite Pathfinder Platoon, where in 2000 during an intervention operation in Sierra Leone he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for actions during a close quarters, jungle battle with the RUF rebels’ group. After leaving the military in 2001, Steve worked as a close protection officer for a high profile businessman and his family operating both in the UK and overseas.
From 2002 to 2015, Steve worked as a senior military and security advisor to the UAE Ministry of Defence where his role was to provide advice and training solutions in areas such as crisis management and contingency planning, threat and risk assessments, VIP protective services and instructor training programmes.
Since his return to the UK, Steve has continued to provide security advice and services across a number of sectors including the corporate, film, TV and fashion industries.
Joanne Baker
Experienced, quality focused & resourceful, Joanne supports all of our projects handling the administration for Argus Risk Management.
Throughout her career, she has demonstrated the ability to manage numerous projects, understanding the importance of compliance, quality, budgeting and performance in order to achieve business objectives. An effective communicator with great people skills, Joanne develops good relationships with clients, employers and partner organisations.